It was the weekend, and that means good, quality nature time.

It started on Day 5, Friday – In the morning, I picked raspberries in our yard and harvested my garden.  My oldest daughter was home from college, so, after lunch, we went for a 2.6 mile walk on the pondside trail at Killens Pond State Park.

It is a great place in the fall, surprisingly, the leaves were only just starting to turn.  Ari walks really fast, so my feeling today was – a little frenetic while I tried to keep up.

Day 6 was wonderful – a 2 hour kayak on the St. Jones River with my friend, Donna. We started in marsh paddled upstream into upland forest then back down to the marsh, with lots and lots of great blue herons to keep us company. It was a perfect day – low 60’sF and bright sunshine.   We could have gone all day!  Feeling – sore, achy and happy.

Day 7 – A totally different take on my nature experience – digging up all my sweet potatoes.  There was a frost 2 nights ago, so it was time to dig.  It is a task I both look forward to and dread –  it is like digging for buried treasure, but when my crop is good, it feels like the digging never ends!

Day 8 – Back to Philly, but first I had the chance to go for a walk along the Wilmington Riverfront before my train.  Today my focus was on the birdhouses, they are a relatively new addition to the riverfront, and they are pretty amazing.  Here are a few I passed today…

My feeling today – refreshed.  I have to say, I have been greatly enjoying the 30 x 30 Challenge.  Even more on the days where I have to try hard to get my nature time in than on the days when I would have done so anyway.  On the tougher days, I appreciate what I am experiencing even more, and it feels like a treat.

I am travelling for business later this week, we shall see what those days bring.